Canatec has carried out several major studies for consortia of industry and government agencies on Extreme Ice Features in the Beaufort Sea. These are Ice Islands, which break off ice shelves on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, and to a lesser extent Greenland, and MultiYear Hummock Fields, which are formed principally off the Arctic coasts of Brock, Borden and Prince Patrick Islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Technically, MultiYear Hummock Fields are formed from sea ice, not freshwater-glacial ice like icebergs, but their size, mass and strength make them equivalent in terms of hazards.
Canatec has studied ice management operations in sea ice and iceberg infested waters of NE Greenland. We are currently engaged in an in-house study of detection methods for icebergs surrounded by sea ice pack in northern Baffin Bay. This is part of a larger study of iceberg production, occurrence, drift and decay in northern Baffin Bay.
Canatec staff have also studied tidewater glaciers in Baffin Bay and drift of very large Ice Islands in Antarctica.
Our ice drift tacking beacons have been used in recording and analysing the drift of Ice Islands, MultiYear Hummock Fields and Icebergs.
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